Toni Blackman

Toni Blackman is the first Hip Hop artist selected to work as a Cultural Ambassador with the US Department of State. She is an Echoing Green Fellow, an alum of Soros Foundation’s OSI fellowship, creator of Freestyle Union Cipher Workshop and Rhyme Like A Girl. Toni is both highly respected as an artist and social entrepreneur having performed at a host of festivals and legendary venues including the Roxy in L.A. and with her band at Apollo in NYC. This influence led to Toni being honored by DOVE soap’s 2012 Real Woman campaign. Toni has performed, led workshops and spoken in 34 different countries including ASPEN Institute’s World Summit on Creativity in Oman, the Pio Manzu Conference in Italy, the World Social Forum in Barcelona, a featured speaker at Chicago Ideas Week, TEDx UMass at Amherst and most recently at Brooklyn Museum’s First Saturdays. She has shared stages with the likes of Erykah Badu, Mos Def, KRS One, Vernon Reid, Meshell, Sarah McLachlan, Sheryl Crow, Gokh Bi System and Youssou Ndour. Toni’s next book, “Wisdom of the Cipher” will be released Spring 2014 along with music from her Hip Hop Meditation project, and a memoir of her work in Hip Hop diplomacy, “Travels of a Lyrical Ambassador”, later in 2014. “Inner-Course”, her first book was released in 2003 (Villard/Random House). Toni earned her B.A. and M.A. at Howard University. She was recently featured in Forbes Magazine and on the Tom Joyner Morning Show. Toni leads workshops, lectures, consults and performs.